The Larry Sanders Show: My Faves

I recently finished The Larry Sander Show and wanted to commemorate the occasion somehow. But there are already so many overviews, in-depth episode guides, and best-of posts out there that it was more satisfying just reading my way through them rather than add anything. As I went along, though, I discovered the consensus top-ten episodes (here are just two representative examples and pretty good ones, too) and my own looked different enough for me to give it a go. 

I won't go into too much production detail or behind-the-scenes stuff except for a few bullet-points up front:

- I was a huge fan of It's Garry Shandling's Show when it aired on FOX in the 80s. Prior to that I had a general familiarity with him as a result of being a fan of stand-up and talk show type stuff, but it was the sitcom deconstruction of IGSS that really landed with me. 

I might do one of these Favorite Episodes posts about it somewhere down the line, so I won't say too much now.

Garry with his real-life mother on set.

- I expected to be a huge fan of the recently aired The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling, which I watched the night after finishing Larry Sanders. I was really into it at first, but I had to turn it off. I trust Apatow not only had the best intentions but also delivered an accurate and fair portrayal of his friend and mentor of many years, but it just annoyed me. This is par for the course with Apatow's work, though; half of it I enjoy greatly and the other half drives me crazy.

Here's Garry and Apatow with Springsteen at the Grammys that Garry hosted.

- Getting back to Larry Sanders, the cast was so great. 

Look 'em up sometime. And that's not even counting the guest stars.

That's the great David Paymer in his recurring role as Larry's publicist Norman. (As well as Chloe and Mrs. Palmer from 24.) This guy has been in everything; these sort of actors always fascinate me. How do you get this career? Besides talent and lucky breaks and hard work and all that. Good on ya, David Paymer.

And my (probable) fave: Rip Torn as producer extraordinaire Artie.

- I didn't plan this, but none of the 12 episodes below has the "Now that sign says... applesauce" Hank Kingsley intro. (Recreated for Jimmy Fallon here.) I thought that was funny - without checking, I think that was the intro for most every episode up until season 5 or 6. I don't think there's any correlation between these things, just mentioning it.

- And just to say it again: those looking for deep-dives on the episodes below won't find them here. This is just my twelve faves and a couple of remarks apiece. There are numerous (and worthy) deep dives out there, though - google and ye shall find!

Without further ado:

12.

Written by Garry Shandling and Peter Tolan. Directed by Todd Holland(s3, e8. 8/10/94)

Larry hits it off with guest Sharon Stone but finds he can't cope with her greater celebrity status. 

"You're getting heat, which means the show's getting heat, which means my kids are going to eat."

"You have kids?"

"There are kids in my neighborhood, who gives a shit?"

That last line is delivered way funnier by David Paymer than it reads. 

Larry dated some memorable celebrities on the show (Mimi Rogers, Dana Delaney, Illeana Douglas, to name a few) and the respective episodes with them are all great. This one is my favorite of them not only because of the chemistry between Garry and Sharon (who were good friends in "real life" and I'm not sure why I'm using quotes, there, but it feels right) but also because of the Hollywood heat index aspect. Hooking up with Sharon is at first very validating for Garry, until he learns at every turn the extent to which she outranks him.

As always it's Artie who sees the situation clearly from the first: "'Listen, I'm going to tell you what you're going to go through, cause I went through this when I was dating Jackie Bisset. Your ego is going to get the living shit kicked out of it, pal. You think you can handle that scalp?'"

11.

Written by Jon Vitti. Directed by Todd Holland
(s5, e1. 11/13/96)

As the network grooms Jon Stewart to take over Larry's job, Larry worries that his friend David Duchovny is romantically pursuing him.

I suppose one might read that description and wonder if it's homophobic humor. But the humor doesn't come from the fact that David Duchovny might (no way, bro!) be gay but in how the whole escapade plays off both Larry's insecurities and is seen as a threat to his real relationship: the show. Plus, Duchovny (another personal friend in "real life") and Garry are hilarious together. 

The Jon Stewart subplot is almost more interesting than than the main plot, particularly in light of how things progress over the course of seasons 5 and 6.

10.

Written by Peter Tolan. Directed by Todd Holland
(s3, e6. 7/27/94)

When Larry is sick, Hank steps in to host the show. A successful first night goes to head, and he unleashes full ego fury on the staff and audience on the second.

As I mentioned before Artie may be my favorite character on the show, but Hank is a close second. Jeffrey Tambor's performance as Hank Kingsley has to rank among the best in all TV comedy. The pathos he brings to the part - his need to be adored, his inability to get out of his own way, his moments of rage, his survival instinct - imbues each and every punchline with something inspired. 

Artie's interactions with Hank over the course of the show are some of my favorite bits, as well. Once it becomes clear to him what's going on, he lets Hank smash his boat on the rocks to learn his lesson (and airs a "Best of Larry" episode instead.)

"You should send a gift basket to John Cusack for that little remark you made about his sister. You should send three gift baskets to Lionel Richie, one for each time you called him Little Richard."

9.

Written by Molly Newman, Judd Apatow, and Maya Forbes. Directed by Ken Kwapis.
(s2, e15. 9/8/93)

After proposing to his girlfriend of two weeks on air (without checking with Artie), Hank convinces Garry to be his best man and Alex Trebek to perform the ceremony on the show.

This one's a classic-sort-of-TV-classic. When Larry takes over reading Hank's vows because Hank is too overwhelmed, it has the feel of an It's Garry Shandling's Show bit. A description Garry probably would have hated, but so it goes. I loved it. 

The strip club bits with Ed McMahon are gold, as well. As both Larry and Artie predict - not that it's a psychic hotline moment - the marriage does not last very long. (See the following season's "Hank's Divorce" as well as the truly excellent "Next Stop... Bottom." Which missed this list only by a hair. I should've done 13.)

"It's a little off-color, but if you like limericks about fucking..."

8.

Written by Peter Tolan. Directed by John Riggi.
(s5, e8. 1/22/97)

While Hank auditions for the role of Hercules in the Disney animated feature, Artie struggles (sort of) with his obsession with Angie Dickinson.

The Artie/ Angie stuff that drives this one is all top notch A+ stuff, ("Is that your tail I see between your legs?" "It's not my tail.") but what really blows this one out of the water (if that metaphor isn't incorrect) is the Hank/ Hercules stuff. After a truly memorable flub of an audition, with the camera almost sympathetically slowly pulling away from him as he stands there blowing it) -

he thinks he's landed the part when the casting agent calls him back and says he's wanted for Hercules (the movie, not the role.) The call is all it takes for Hank's ego, which always retracts or expands depending on the room to which he is assigned, to re-assert itself.

"Hey! What are you doing, asshole?"
"This is a warning, my friend. You do not mess with Hercules. I killed my wife, I killed my children and I shall kill you if you do not temper thy tongue."
"Are you fucking insane, Hank?"

Indeed he is. When he discovers he is being offered the role of the village idiot/ bumbling sidekick, at first he balks, to put it mildly. I'd guessed as I was watching that Hank was going to physically assault the casting agent the way he did Phil (the head writer) in the excerpt above. But when the agent (showing himself a quick study of our Mr. Kingsley) tells him Michael Eisner thinks his character is the best in the film, his about-face is immediate.

7.

Written by Maya Forbes and Garry Shandling. Directed by Todd Holland.
(s4, e14. 11/1/95)

When a prop job opens up, Beverly's cousin's comments about the lack of black people on the staff or on the show itself causes Beverly to question her job as Garry's personal assistant. 

I feel bad focusing only on select members of the cast - truly, this is a show where everyone from the regular cast to the secondary to the recurring works so well together - but let's talk about Penny Johnson Jerald as Beverly for a second. You might know her from playing Mrs. David Palmer on 24 or Mrs. Captain Sisko on ST: DS9 or from her current role on The Orville. I recognized her from these things, but I'd never truly paid attention to her exercising her craft until Larry Sanders. She's fantastic.

P.C.-ness was a relatively new concept in the 90s. It had yet to conquer the industry, so an episode like this is a testament to television of a different era. No one would suggest Larry or Artie are racists or have deliberately created an environment which on the face of it would suggest black people are only personal assistants. And yet, everyone is rattled by the simple (and accurate) observation of Beverly's cousin. This is Hollywood, where appearance is everything, and yet Beverly struggles with something, here. It's all handled very well.

And when Larry agrees to hire her cousin as the prop director and Beverly discovers she can't work with him and asks Larry to fire him, the pained, comic, almost-relief delivery of Larry's "No" which ends the episode is so perfect. I wish I could screencap or otherwise put it here! It might be among my favorite moments of Garry's acting, truthfully; it's such an unexpected and perfect delivery that ties all the subtleties in play together.

6.

Written by Judd Apatow and Adam Resnick from a story by them and Garry Shandling. Directed by Garry Shandling.
(s6, e8. 5/10/98)

After Hank lashes into Sid, the cue guy, who gets to play Liza Minnelli in a sketch Hank feels belongs to him, Sid commits suicide and sends Hank into a double-vision nightmare of guilt and covering his tracks. 

Oh, this one is painful, my friends. We've seen these characters' flaws get the better of them, particularly Hank but Larry too most definitely - such as when he calls Hank a "talentless fat fuck" when he quit his prescription pills cold turkey - but this one is handled so well. All credit to Sid Newman for how he plays it. There was never much to Sid's part, but he - and perhaps here is a symbolic overture to the cue-card-guy's role in the entire talk show industry - was always a fun part of whatever scene he was in, mainly because of how the other characters from Artie and Larry on down played off him. To see that subverted here in his final appearance is unsettling but also surprising and quite brilliant, really.

As is the way the camera lingers on Sid silently unwinding his Liza scarf in the wake of Hank's tirade.

Wonderfully recalled after Hanks does the bit (ostensibly) as "a tribute to Sid."

5.

Written by Maya Forbes. Directed by Alan Myerson.
(s5, e10. 2/5/97)

After reading a spate of celebrity memoirs - 

including I Am Spock by Leonard Nimoy!

Larry decides to write his own. But when he reads the galley proof, it sends him into a spiral of self-loathing and despair.

What brings him out of it (no spoiler) is pure Artie.

I love this exchange between Hank and Artie, where Hank (predictably) obsesses over what Larry might write about him, whereas Artie is aloof.

"Oh come on, you know what it is, his life and times, who he got to fuck, the usual Hollywood bull-shit tell-all. (...)"
"I am fucked. He's going to write about the incident."
"What incident?"
"Aw come on you know, you know - don't make me say it."
"You mean everyone's favorite in sex tapes?"
"No."
"The time you slipped and chipped your tooth on the urinal?"
"Oh God I forgot about that. No I mean the time I masturbated before the show and you caught me."
"(chuckles) I'd forgotten about that one."

Beverly and Brian's secret admirer subplot affords some great moments for those characters, as well.

4.

Written by Adam Resnick from a story by Garry Shandling and Adam Resnick. Directed by Alan Myerson.
(s5, e12. 2/19/97)

Arthur (and Norm and Stevie) convince Larry into being the subject of a roast. 

"Everyone I love is here tonight..."

The roast itself is hilarious - especially Hank's whacked-out heckling of Jon Stewart and the masterful use of Carrot Top - but it's Artie's physical takedown of Hank that steals the show. I watched that a dozen times trying to screencap it, but no soap, alas. The quality of my file is too poor, and Artie moves too fast. But the leap-into-the-air-and-headlock-maneuver out-Shatners Shatner. Rip Torn was former Military Police which undoubtedly informs his perfection of physical comedy in this scene.

"This is the worst fucking night of my life." 

3.

Written by Peter Tolan and Garry Shandling. Directed by Todd Holland.
(s6, e11 and 12. 5/31/98)

The Larry Sanders Show draws to a close, and a host of top flight guests (Jerry Seinfeld, Tim Allen, Jim Carrey) stop by for their own various reasons to big Larry farewell. Everyone reacts to the end in his and her own fashion.

At the beginning, Larry is watching Jack Paar's TV farewell, and it's really a nice, subtle moment. (Paar is one of the framed talk show hosts Larry has on the wall in his office, just before Johnny.)

To continue the sentiment of that caption: part of the reason I know any TV trivia of the 60s is because of Garry Shandling and other baby boomers coming of media age in the 70s and 80s. I know little about Jack Paar - sadly, most of his Tonight Shows were taped over, an unfortunately commonplace practice of the era, and lost forever, but this reminded me of a Trivial Pursuit question I once memorably (to me, I mean, not to America) got wrong: Jack Paar's dog was named Leica, not"Lancet", which is how it sounds to my ears when he said it. It's one of those viral-earworm-from-Ceti-Alpha-5 things I guess. Anyway - it's a great way to begin the episode.

I won't say too much about this one except (a) it's about as great a finale as could be hoped for, and (b) it's filled with fun and classy callbacks, like this one:

"Sid's brother." As played by Paul Wilson, who also played Larry's gambling addicted accountant earlier in the series.

I love Jerry's cutting off Hank's farewell and Hank forcefully but awkwardly powering through it anyway.

"God bless you, and you may now flip."

I see this as number one on a lot of lists, and it makes sense, like I say: it's just about perfect. But FWIW there are two episodes I personally enjoy more.

2.

Written by Peter Tolan. Directed by Todd Holland.
(s4, e3. 8/2/95)

Arthur absorbs one too many of his job's demands and spends the night getting drunk - first by himself, then with the Romanian janitor with whom he forms a brief but intense friendship, then by himself again - alone after hours in Studio 11.

Is it the best Artie episode? Probably. But man, I cannot get Artie putting Hank into that headlock in "The Roast" out of mind, or his resigned powerlessness in the face of Angie Dickinson or so many other moments. What I can tell you is this: this is a delight start to finish, and the wrap-up at the end (which I won't spoil) is one of the only times we see the tables turned on Artie: Larry knowing his friend well enough to (happily) manipulate him. 

"I believe random vomit is the janitor's responsibility."

"Beverly!"

And finally:

1.

Written by Peter Tolan. Directed by Todd Holland.
(s4, e16. 11/22/95)

Larry forgets to urinate before his 8th anniversary show and is prevented from doing so between each commercial break.

Here's my vote for how the show came together the best. Everything is integrated so perfectly, and what I took to be a throwaway gag with George Segal turned out to be the Zen moment of closure I didn't even know I needed! I imagine a lot of other viewers felt the same way in 1995. 1995, I salute you from the future. 

Celebrities playing themselves (outside of The Simpsons) was not quite a "thing" in 1995. (I remember seeing Harold and Kumar in 2004 and Doogie Howser snorting coke off the model's ass and thinking 'oh, this is mainstream now.' 5 years (ahem) after Free Enterprise, but really Shatner is his own genre and category, as ever). Larry Sanders in general was way ahead of the curve with that, but Mandy Patinkin here should probably be considered a trailblazer or beacon of sorts. Right down to that obnoxious, piercing, thinly-masked aggressive laugh. 

"(Hank) Don't expect anything from me during the K.D. Lang segment."

"(Artie, sing-songily) I don't, I never do."

~

Garry et al brought to life something really magical in this series. As I mentioned to my wife after finishing the show, I felt like someone who caught a train 20 years too late and arrived to a station that had since been turned into a convenience store or something, and kept asking everyone who worked there "Yeah but what about this episode, do you remember that?" Hence all the above. Chapeau from across time and space to all parties.

Larry Sanders 1992 - 1998.
Garry Shandling 1949 - 2016